Leading a Mentally Healthy School

There is a growing Mental Health crisis in schools. Evidence shows that across the UK Mental Health issues in children are increasing, while child well-being is deteriorating. In a recent study carried out by Young Minds, 90% of school leaders reported an increase in the number of students experiencing anxiety and stress in the last five years.

With the average child spending approximately 7,800 hours within classrooms, schools have an opportunity to promote and to foster good emotional and mental well-being and to identify potential problems at an early stage.

‘Leading a Mentally Healthy School’ is a new two-day programme that has been designed for senior leaders of all phases and settings. It aims to enable reflection and action planning around whole school approaches to mental health provision. The programme has been developed by Health Education England (HEE) and the School Development Support Agency (SDSA) in partnership with expert educational psychologists and mental health organisations. The programme responds to the areas highlighted in the Government’s Green Paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’, published in December 2017, which clearly stated the Government’s intention to put “schools and colleges at the heart of… efforts to intervene and prevent problems escalating” through the appointment of Designated Senior Leaders for Mental Health in every setting. South Bromsgrove High Teaching School Alliance is delighted to be able to offer this important professional development training to senior school leaders across our region.

The programme comprises two modules, delivered across two whole days (non-consecutive). The programme will aim to:

Enable and empower school leaders to place mental health at the heart of strategic school improvement;

Equip senior leaders with practical and sustainable approaches that can be implemented immediately.

South Bromsgrove High Academy Trust is a charity and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales with Company Number 8565135 whose Registered Office is at Charford Road, Bromsgrove, B60 3NL